Lingenau combines marked hiking trails with a diverse natural and cultural landscape, a long cheese-making tradition and sacred buildings. The village can be explored from several perspectives: Rotenberg Forest and the spring tufa offer contrasting geological features, while the story benches, chapel and cheese cellar put local stories and regional products in the spotlight. Which of these themes guides your travel plans depends on whether you mainly want to hike, discover culture or explore regional cuisine.

Hiking, Forest and Geological Features

Lingenau’s hiking trails are uniformly marked in accordance with Vorarlberg’s hiking trail concept. One example is the Rotenberg Forest Trail, which leads from Lingenau or Hittisau through a particularly species-rich mixed forest. Tree species found there include silver firs, beeches, spruces, ash trees, maples, elms and lindens. Along the trail, 19 stations provide information about topics including a forest room, a raised bog and a natural arena made of Nagelfluh rock.

Rotenberg Forest also offers the chance to experience a natural and cultural landscape with striking geological formations. These include a natural stone arena formed by Nagelfluh boulders and Bruggmoos, a remnant of a glacial lake. Spring tufa offers another geological perspective: it is among the most unique calcareous sinter formations north of the Alps and is one of Vorarlberg’s outstanding geological features. The nature theme thus extends from the habitats of the mixed forest to geological features of regional and wider significance.

The Achtalweg offers another option for planning your trip. The Bregenzerach runs alongside the trail, and there is also a cycle path there. This gives you different ways to explore the landscape—on foot or by bike—without implying that they follow the same route.

Stories and Nature Knowledge Along the Way

The “Lingenau Tells Its Story” project combines hiking trails with personal stories that relate to the landscape. It comprises 28 hiking benches where you can listen to these stories as audio recordings. The story benches are located along four routes. You will need a mobile phone and internet access to listen. The audio recordings add a cultural dimension to the project: alongside the trail itself, the focus is on personal stories and their connection to the landscape.

Another attraction is the Natur.Museum on Dörnelstraße, directly behind the church. An open-air museum, it presents the habitats of the Nagelfluhkette Nature Park and offers a quiz. The forest trail, story benches and museum each have a different focus: plants and themed stations, personal stories or the nature park’s habitats.

Chapel and Bridge Construction

St. Anne’s Chapel is dedicated to Saint Anne and was built in the Baroque style between 1722 and 1728. May devotions and rosaries are held in the chapel; weddings and wedding anniversaries are also celebrated there. After being renovated in 2021 and 2022, it reopened. Check current access arrangements before visiting.

Another building of historical significance is the covered wooden Gschwendtobel Bridge over the Subersach. It connects the municipalities of Egg and Lingenau and is a protected monument. The bridge is attributed to Alois Negrelli, the planner of the Suez Canal. Its design and protected status give the cultural theme a distinctive architectural dimension.

Cheese-Making Tradition and Regional Delicacies

The history of Lingenau’s cheese industry dates back to 1718. That year, the Appenzell dairyman Büchele introduced full-fat cheesemaking in Lingenau. The village subsequently developed into a major center of full-fat cheese production in Vorarlberg. This historical development explains the importance of cheese to the village’s history.

Today, the Genusswelt at the Bregenzerwälder Käsekeller in Lingenau is a place to find regional products. It showcases its member businesses and offers a varied selection of regional delicacies. Together, the historical cheese production and the Genusswelt point to two different sides of the culinary theme: the development of a regional tradition and the present-day presentation of products from the region.

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